Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns marks the big screen return of everyone’s favorite aggressive Southern matriarch, Madea. (Well, sort of — if the film is anything like Perry’s 2004 play of the same title, her role is reduced to a mere cameo). Either way, Perry, who has portrayed the character in two prior films, will also play Uncle Joe in Meet the Browns, which he directed and adapted for the silver screen.

In this one, Perry’s fourth film, Angela Bassett stars as Brenda, a single mother of three trying her best to make ends meet. After suddenly being laid off work, she for the first time loses hope, until a letter arrives on her doorstep announcing the death of her father, who Brenda never met. Desperate for help, she travels to Georgia with her family to attend the funeral, though nothing could have prepared Brenda for her father’s fun-loving, ridiculous Southern family. While struggling to get to know the family she is meeting for the first time, Brenda is also presented with the possibility of a new romance, which just might change things for the better.

After building a strong reputation on the stage with his witty plays, Perry quickly became a household name through his films in just a little over two years. In 2005, Perry absolutely shocked box office analysts when his debut film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, opened to a strong $21.9 million, and $50.4 million in total when all was said and done. A year later, Madea’s Family Reunion was even bigger, grossing $30 million in its opening weekend and $63.3 million overall. And finally, 2007’s Why Did I Get Married? fits snuggly in between the two — $21.4 million in its opening weekend, $55.2 million overall.

Critically, however, Perry’s films don’t rank so hot. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Diary of a Mad Black Woman is a whopping 16 percent positive with critics, Madea’s Family Reunion is slightly better at 28 percent positive, and Why Did I Get Married? bests them all at a still underwhelming 48 percent positive. Even so, given Perry’s string of successes — financially speaking, of course — there’s no reason to expect Meet the Browns to perform any differently. (Eric Hughes/BOP)